


Cop Story

by siophiefandom



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: F/F, paily
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-05-23
Packaged: 2018-11-03 23:19:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10977480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siophiefandom/pseuds/siophiefandom
Summary: It's a case of mistaken identity when Sergeant Paige McCullers show up at Emily Fields' door, responding to a noise complaint. Things go horribly right from there. Paily one-shotOriginally published on fanfiction dot net, April 6, 2017





	Cop Story

Emily was giggling, slightly tipsy, when she answered the pounding at the door. She wasn't sure why whoever it was hadn't used the doorbell, until she realized that she probably wouldn't have heard it anyway. She spun around, back towards the party, and yelled, "Turn it down!" – although she was too far removed from the living room, and the music was too loud for any of her guests to have heard her.

She opened the door to see a stunning policewoman standing perfectly straight in the doorway. Her uniform was dark blue, starched stiff, with a bright gold badge and a small, black plastic tag with the name "McCullers" engraved on it. Her hat was tucked under her arm, exposing auburn hair that pulled into a perfectly tight bun in the back. Emily got a little excited. _Who ordered the stripper?_ She didn't have to think it over for long. It had to have been Hanna.

"Excuse me, ma'am," the woman said in a deep, raspy voice. "We've received several complaints…"

"Ooh – I bet you have," Emily said, not letting the woman finish before she reached for her arm to drag her inside. The woman tensed at the unexpected contact, reflexively reaching under her unzipped blue parka and putting her hand on the holster of her pistol. Emily's eyes followed the movement of the woman's hand and saw the gun, which looked very real. The woman, sensing the panic in Emily's eyes, took a slow step back, dropping her hand to her side again, away from her service revolver, to calm the situation.

Just then, Hanna's blonde head poked around the door. She chugged down the contents of the red plastic cup in her hand, her eyes widening at the sight of the visitor on the doorstep. "Well, well, well!" she cooed, "I see the entertainment has arrived!"

"Hanna!" Emily whisper shouted out of the side of her mouth. "Go tell them to turn that music down!"

Hanna shot Emily a confused look, but the harsh face that Emily was making convinced her not to think twice. She jogged back down the hallway into the living room. A moment later, the music was turned down.

"I… I'm terribly sorry," Emily said, hiding the cup from which she had been drinking behind her back, as if the policewoman hadn't seen it. "I… we'll keep it down."

The woman nodded her head in a kind of salute as she put her hat back on. "Well, your neighbors and I would appreciate that," she declared with a wry smile. With those words, she spun around and headed down the walk towards the sidewalk.

"Sorry," Emily called weakly behind her. She wasn't sure that she wanted her apology to be heard, but the policewoman stopped and twisted her torso towards her. "I mean, sorry that you had to come out here." Inside, Emily was thinking, _And thank you for not giving me a citation_ , but she thought it best not even to bring up that possibility.

The woman tipped her cap and smiled. "Just doing my job, Ma'am."

Emily stood frozen in the doorway, waiting for her heartbeat to get back to normal as she watched the woman walk away. Once she was breathing normally again, she closed the door and turned around, suddenly clutching her heart with a gasp of surprise when she saw Hanna's face right in front of her. "Hanna!" she yelled, smacking Hanna on the shoulder.

"The stripper left?" Hanna was confused.

"She was not a stripper," Emily said, enunciating every syllable. "She was a _real_ cop." She had the look of an angered assassin – a look that would've made anyone else wilt. But not Hanna.

"Oh," Hanna shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, I didn't know," she protested blithely. Emily smacked her shoulder again. "Ow!" Hanna started scowling, too. "What the hell was that for?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Emily droned. She knew that she shouldn't blame Hanna for the fact that she thought that the hot cop who turned up on her doorstep had been a stripper. Then again, it was totally Hanna's fault, because hiring a stripper to surprise Emily at her Super Bowl party was exactly the sort of thing that Hanna would do.

* * *

Emily stepped into the Starbucks and pulled off her hat and gloves, shaking her hair out and patting it into place. She took a quick look around for Hanna, although she knew that Hanna would be late. As she scanned the room, she noticed someone over in the far corner who looked oddly familiar. It didn't take Emily long to place her as the cop from two weeks ago, at her Super Bowl party. She quickly turned towards the door to head out, thinking she would intercept Hanna and tell her that there had been a change of plans. She thought better of it, though. From what she knew of the police, they were always very aware of her surroundings. This one had most likely chosen her table for its view of the door, and had certainly looked up and seen Emily enter as soon as the bell above the door jingled. Emily decided that she would be better off facing the situation head on. She walked slowly over to the table, managing a smile.

"Sergeant McCullers."

Paige, who had been looking at her phone, looked up, confused over the greeting. Most civilians called her "Officer," if they called her anything. Not many of them picked up on her rank.

Emily was thrown by the confused reaction, thinking that the young policewoman didn't remember her. "You… you were at my house last week," she said as a question. Paige furrowed her forehead, shaking her head slightly. The response ratcheted up Emily's panic a little higher – giving her the irrational fear that the woman thought that Emily had mistaken her for a one-night stand. She nervously tried to make a joke out of it. "I almost didn't recognize you without your uniform. I mean…" _Damn it!_ Emily mentally slapped her forehead, for bringing up her assumption that McCullers the cop was McCullers the stripper. "I mean…" Emily took a breath and reset. "Super Bowl Sunday," she prodded. "The music was too loud?"

Paige shrugged her shoulders. "You have to understand, I responded to a lot of noise complaints on Super Bowl Sunday."

 _How many of them looked as hot as me?_ Emily never thought of herself that way, but she was getting annoyed. She had debased herself to come over and apologize for something that had embarrassed beyond measure, and Sergeant McCullers apparently didn't have the slightest recollection that they had ever met.

Emily gave her an embarrassed smile. "I'm sorry, Sergeant…"

"Paige," the cop interrupted.

"Paige," Emily echoed. "I'll… let you get back to your coffee."

"Ma'am?" Paige called behind her as Emily turned to walk away.

"Emily," Emily corrected.

"Emily." Paige allowed a slight smile to show on her face. "Um… I didn't mean to be rude, I just…"

"Oh, no, you weren't," Emily assured her. "I just…" Emily caught Hanna out of the corner of her eye. _Thank God._ "I… - I'm sorry. There's my friend." Emily smiled quickly and practically ran to meet Hanna at the door, grateful that Hanna hadn't seen where she had come from and whom she had been talking to.

 _You have no idea how many noise complaints I got on Super Bowl Sunday._ Emily's blood was boiling. She knew what Paige was really saying: "You have no idea how many women throw themselves at me when I'm sitting here in Starbucks, trying to drink my coffee." Emily had felt small at the beginning of the conversation. She felt positively miniscule by the end of it.

Paige didn't let out her deep breath until she was out of Emily's line of sight. Of course, she remembered Emily. Seeing her there, in her green Eagles jersey and black leggings, barefoot, with perfectly pedicured toes, had been the highlight of her week. There was no way that she could have forgotten that image. She hadn't intended to wind Emily up, but, once she saw how adorably flustered Emily was becoming, she couldn't resist. Paige was usually the one who got flustered, one on one with a beautiful woman. It felt nice to be on the other side.

"Sergeant McCullers," she said softly to herself, and chuckled. Emily had not only noticed the rank she was wearing, but had noticed the nametag, too – and had remembered the name. Paige couldn't help feeling good about that.

* * *

"Emily?" Emily turned toward the now familiar low, raspy voice, and so did the girl whose hand she was holding. Emily quickly let go of the girl's hand, taking her in her arms instead. She wasn't sure why she did it; whether she was trying to shield the girl from Paige or to use the girl to shield herself from Paige.

"Sergeant McCullers," Emily responded, smiling nervously.

"Is she in the Army?" the little girl asked.

"No, Hon, she's on the police force."

"Like Grandma?" the girl asked, in a high, squeaky voice.

"Yes, Sweetie. Like Grandma." Emily turned to Paige, explaining, "My Mom works on the police force in my hometown." She paused before adding, "Rosewood, PA. It's outside of…" Emily trailed off, not sure why she was telling Paige her life story.

 _Well, that explains how she figured out that I'm a sergeant,_ Paige thought. She simply nodded in reply, a little disappointed. It wasn't finding out that Emily had a daughter that disappointed her. It was the fact that Emily was the kind of parent who would host a party loud enough to generate a noise complaint when she had a little girl at home. But her training had taught her not to assume; to get all of the facts. After all, she hadn't seen the girl with Emily before. Perhaps Emily only had partial custody.

Whatever the explanation, Paige got the excuse to leave that she was looking for when the cashier called her name, signaling that her order was ready for pick up. "Have a nice day," she said, with a nod of her head, turning to pick up her food.

* * *

Paige tapped her foot against the top step a couple of times, looking down at her impeccably polished black shoes as she did. She almost turned to walk away. She wasn't sure why she was at Emily's doorstep. She knew what her pretext was; knew what excuse she would give if Emily answered the door, but she didn't know what had really brought her there. She removed her cap, tucking her hat under her arm, and carefully patted her hair back into place before she rang the doorbell. She almost walked away after waiting for a response, but the sound of approaching footsteps stopped her.

Emily gave a half-smile as she opened the door. "Sergeant McCullers."

"Ma'am."

Emily rolled her eyes at Paige's formal response, but she took the hint. " _Paige_ ," she said, correcting herself. "Don't tell me the music's too loud?"

Paige chuckled nervously at Emily's joke. "No, Ma'am… Emily. This is just a routine patrol. We like to go around the neighborhood and make sure everything's okay, and, since I noticed that your light was on, I just thought I might as well check in with you."

Emily smiled, without saying a word. She wasn't sure whether it was sweet, on Paige's part, or just good detective work. She didn't know whether to be flattered or frightened.

"Oh," Paige added, unbuttoning the pocket on the breast of her shirt. "And I wanted to give you this." Paige pulled out a sticker and handed it to Emily.

Emily looked confused.

"It's…" Paige chuckled nervously. It had seemed like a charming idea, back at the station, but Emily's reaction had her questioning herself. "It's a Junior Deputy badge," she explained, shrugging her shoulders. "You know, for your daughter," she said defensively.

"My… daughter…"

Paige mirrored the look of confusion on Emily's face. She may have thought that Emily was a bad parent for having a loud party when her daughter should've been asleep, but how bad was it that Emily didn't seem to remember that she even had a daughter?

"Oh!" Emily laughed out loud. "Mia!" Paige's head tilted sideways at the response of someone who, apparently, had just remembered who her daughter was. Emily leaned her head back and laughed again. "My _niece_ ," she explained.

"Oh!" Paige's head snapped back and she cringed, closing her eyes. "Your niece!" She had been taught not to jump to conclusions at the police academy, and yet she had jumped. The child's grandmother and Emily's mother worked for the police, but that applied to "aunt" as well as for "mother."

"Oh, my God, what a horrible mother you must've thought I was! Is that why you stopped by? To check on Mia?"

Paige shook her head dismissively, although that was, in fact, exactly what she had thought.

Emily cleared her throat when the laughter died down and she realized that she was touching Paige's shoulder. She wasn't sure how long her hand had been there. It wasn't unusual for her to make physical contact like that, but she was a little gun-shy around Paige. Especially since the last time she reached for Paige's arm, an actual gun was involved.

"I'm sorry," Paige said, dipping her head. "I… I feel pretty stupid, right now."

"Oh, nonsense!" Emily idly fanned the sticker in her left hand, once she retracted her right hand from Paige's shoulder. "I'll be sure to give this to her next time she comes out to visit. She'll love it!"

Paige mouthed the word, "Okay" as she took a step backwards, reaching for her hat.

"Can I pour you a cup of coffee?" Emily wasn't sure why she said that, except that it was late, and cold, and she imagined that a cup of coffee would be just the thing.

"I'd like that," Paige said, putting on her hat nonetheless, "but I should really be getting back to my patrol."

"Okay," Emily said barely audibly, doing her best to hide her disappointment.

The warmth of Emily's smile took the chill off of Paige better than any coffee could have. It almost made her want to reconsider her decision. She had, in fact, timed her visit to coincide with her dinner break, hoping against hope that Emily might invite her in. But after the embarrassing case of mistaken identity, she didn't think that she could hang around. "Rain check?" she asked hopefully.

Emily nodded. "Thanks for checking up on me," she said warmly. "And for this," she added, fanning the sticker again. Paige tipped the brim of her cap and headed back into the night.

Emily leaned against the wall and took a couple of calming breaths, not sure what to make of what had just happened. She wished that she had hugged Paige, but she knew that it wouldn't have been appropriate. She took the sticker in both hands and held it up to her nose. It was stupid, she knew, but she couldn't help wondering whether it smelled like Paige – whatever Paige smelled like. She tapped it against the fingertips of her left hand as she headed to the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee – and to call Hanna.

"Hey, Emily," Hanna said through a yawn.

"Hanna!"

"What's up?"

"You'll never guess who was just here!"

Hanna sighed. "Sergeant McStrippy!"

"Hanna!"

Hanna knew Paige's name. It was April, and Emily hadn't been able to shut up about her since the Super Bowl party back in February. Hanna had been torn momentarily between the option of playing dumb, to give Emily the delight of telling her the news, and the option of letting loose another reference to their embarrassing first meeting. In the end, bringing up the first meeting was too good an opportunity for Hanna to pass up.

"What was she doing there?"

"I don't know," Emily said, shrugging her shoulders as if Hanna could see the gesture. "She said she was on a routine patrol and stopped by because she saw my lights on."

"So, she was in the neighborhood and decided to drop by," Hanna paraphrased, to point out what a cliché excuse that was.

"Yeah, exactly," Emily said flatly, shooting down what Hanna was insinuating. "Plus, she gave me this sticker for Mia." Emily held it in front of her eyes and read it out loud to Hanna.

"For Mia?"

Emily grinned at the memory. "She thought that Mia was my daughter!"

Hanna laughed into the phone. "She thought she was your daughter?"

"Oh, yeah," Emily assured her. "It was funny, because I was confused when she said it was for my daughter, and then she got confused, as if I didn't remember my own daughter…"

"But you set her straight?"

"Of course," Emily laughed. "It was just funny."

"Uh huh. And speaking of _straight…_ "

"Oh, don't start, Hanna!" Emily laughed. This was exactly why she had called Hanna. She needed someone to say out loud what she couldn't admit to herself that she was thinking. Of course, Paige didn't just happen to be in the neighborhood. But it seemed presumptuous and silly for Emily to say it. It was reassuring that Hanna had come to that conclusion on her own. Not that Emily would admit that. "Anyway," she persisted, "who says she's even gay?"

"Emily, you _do_ realize that this is not heterosexual behavior, right?"

* * *

Emily looked up from her booth in the back of the all-night diner when she heard the door open. She had been doing that – looking up at the door whenever it opened – for the better part of an hour. Once again, it was a false alarm; just some random, apparently drunk little old man hobbling off into the night. Emily sighed heavily and turned her attention back to the essays that she was pretending to grade, tapping her red pen against the warped plastic of the table.

It was a stupid idea, she knew: camping out in the diner with a stack of essays from her freshman lit students, on the off chance that Paige would show up there for her dinner break. It was the only full diner open twenty-four hours, and Emily had seen cops hanging out there before.

Emily chuckled to herself. At least her idea wasn't as stupid as Hanna's. Hanna insisted that Emily should call 911 and report a robbery in progress, expecting that Paige would be the first responder. When Emily told her about the seriousness of 911 calls – and about the repercussions for filing a false police report – Hanna volunteered to stop by and pretend to be the robber.

Hanna was a great friend, but she didn't really think things through once her sense of romance was activated.

Once again, the door opened, but, this time, it was not false alarm. Emily's back stiffened as she saw Paige come in, with that cocky, woman-in-charge stride. But she deflated a little when she saw that Paige wasn't alone. There were two male officers with her – and one female, who was leaning on Paige's shoulder, laughing at some joke they had shared. And it wasn't just any woman; it was Shana Fring. Emily remembered Shana from her high school days. Shana swam for their rivals at Ravenswood High. Emily's couldn't help rolling her eyes. There was just something about Shana. She was one of those competitors who wasn't above hitting below the belt to knock her opponents off their game. Emily even had her doubts that Shana was actually into girls, and not just trying to mess with her head. She didn't know how Paige had gotten caught up in her spell. She would have hoped that Paige had more common sense.

Emily's plan to stake out the diner seemed even stupider than it had before. She hunched over in her booth, trying to hide herself behind her long, dark hair.

Paige scanned the dining area as she always did, without even thinking about it. "Oh," she said softly, and cleared her throat, suddenly becoming subdued. "Um, you guys go get a booth," she said to her colleagues. "I'll… uh… I'll catch up with you."

Paige adjusted her uniform and let out a deep breath. She tucked her cap under her arm and smoothed her hand over her hair. "Emily," she said, her voice softer than normal.

"Oooh, _Emily_!" Paige's fellow policemen cooed knowingly. Rather than heading to find a booth, they had bunched together a few feet behind Paige, wanting to see what had diverted her attention.

Emily lifted her head when she heard Paige call her name, trying to make it look as if she hadn't been trying to hide. She heard the teasing way that Paige's friends repeated her name after Paige said it, and she caught their giddy reactions. She started to think that her idea wasn't so stupid after all.

"What are you doing here so late?" Paige asked, with an eager smile.

"Oh," Emily said slowly, lifting up the corner of a few papers, "I had some papers to grade, and I was starting to get drowsy, so I thought I should, maybe, take a walk, get off my couch, and get some coffee, to help me concentrate." Emily had rehearsed her cover story so many times that it came out sounding natural.

Paige's smile dimmed. She didn't want to interrupt, if Emily was working. She stood frozen in place for a split second before Emily picked up on the change in energy. Forcing a yawn, she said, "I'm probably going to have to take a break, though. The sentences are all starting to blur together in my head."

Paige nodded. Angling her body in the direction where her friends had found a seat, she asked, "Well would you like…" She stopped herself mid-sentence and shook her head, realizing that Emily wouldn't really enjoy spending time with a bunch of cops on their dinner break.

"Would I like…?" Emily prodded.

"I… uh…" Paige was struggling to come up with something. "I just wondered whether you'd like… some company?"

Emily smiled, shuffling some papers to the side to clear a bit of space for Paige on the table. Paige set her cap on the table next to her as she took a seat.

"Do you need to let your friends know that you're not joining them?"

"Oh, they'll be fine." Paige turned towards their table and gave them a wave. They quickly turned their attention to their menus, as if they hadn't been staring at Paige and Emily the entire time. It was all that Emily could do not to smirk at their not-so-subtle reaction. Pretending to grade papers at the diner had turned out to be one of the best decisions of her life.

* * *

"So, Shana's a cop, now, huh?"

"Yeah, we graduated the academy together. The four of us, actually. That's why we're all on graveyard, you know. The rookie shift."

"But you've already made sergeant?"

Paige smiled shyly. "Yeah, well, you know." She shrugged her shoulders dismissively. "Top of my class."

Emily couldn't help smiling with pride. "I knew Shana back in high school," she admitted. "Well, she actually went to our rival school."

"Oh, yeah, right… She mentioned…" Paige dipped her head and stopped mid-sentence, realizing that she was about to admit that she had been talking about Emily with her colleagues. But it was too late to back away from it. "Um… that she used to swim against you."

"Did she now?" Emily said knowingly. She didn't go so far as to point out the fact that Paige had been talking about her. There was no need to go in for the kill. Paige was already vulnerable, flashing the goofy smile that Emily was getting to love.

Paige switched gears. "I… uh… I don't suppose you're hungry?"

Emily shook her head. "It's a bit late for me to eat," she said with a sad smile, which Paige mirrored. "But don't let me stop you," she added quickly. "I imagine you must be starving." Paige shrugged nonchalantly, not really wanting to be the only one eating. "I may steal a couple of your fries," Emily offered. Paige motioned the server over.

* * *

"So, what do you teach?"

"I teach English Lit, over at Community. I also teach a dance class - modern, jazz, hip-hop - in the evenings."

Emily noticed the way Paige's eyebrows raised for a split second, as if she were getting a visual of Emily in her dance outfit. Paige looked away. Emily reached across the table and took a couple of Paige's fries, to lower the tension a bit.

"I'm actually taking classes at Community," Paige offered. "Criminal Justice."

"Oh, really?" Paige nodded. "Is that what you want to do?"

"Well, yeah." Paige shifted slightly in her seat. "I mean, I still want to be a cop – I've pretty much always wanted to be a cop. But I want to get into detective work, maybe forensics."

Emily was smiling in admiration. "Well, it's great to have a plan."

Paige noticed the way that Emily was eyeing her burger. She stretched it out in Emily's direction, cocking and eyebrow. With a shy giggle, Emily put both of her forearms flat against the tabletop and leaned across, opening her mouth. She lifted one hand, covering Paige's hand with it, to steady the burger as she took a bite. Once she bit, she closed her eyes and fell back against the booth. "Mmmm," she said, her eyes still closed. "They make the best burgers here!"

* * *

Emily noticed Paige's friends reaching for their wallets in the booth on the other side of the dining area. Paige turned her head to see what Emily had been looking at, and then looked at her watch.

"Dinner break's over?" Emily asked with a tinge of sadness in her voice.

Paige nodded. "Yeah. I should be getting back."

"I should be, too." Emily began loading her students' papers into her messenger bag. After all, there was only one reason that she had gone to the diner.

"I'll walk you home," Paige offered.

Emily smiled at the sweetness of it. "You don't have to!"

"It's late," Paige said, her voice fraught with the full weight and authority of a police sergeant. "I'll walk you home." Emily nodded. Paige stood and clipped her walkie-talkie to her shirt, picking her hat up off of the table. She pulled out her wallet and left a couple of bills behind for the server as she picked up the check. "I'll just let those guys know that I'm going to escort you home." Paige took a couple of steps in the direction of their table, but, noticing that Emily was still in the booth, she turned sideways back towards her and gestured for her to join her.

"Guys," Paige announced, "This is Emily. Emily – Pat, Chris, and you know Shana." Emily smiled and nodded her head, acknowledging each introduction. "Emily's on 18th and Chestnut," Paige explained. "I'm going to walk her home, and then I'll check in with you guys."

"Okay, Sarge!" The three officers were playing it straight – no smirks or sly winks. They didn't want to spoil things for Paige. Paige ushered Emily towards the cashier's desk to pay the check before she held open the door and let Emily through. As the door was closing, Paige heard her colleagues burst into laughter. She could only hope that Emily didn't hear.

Paige took the messenger bag off of Emily's shoulder and carried it like a briefcase as they walked. They must have been walking too close together, because their hands kept brushing against each other – once, twice, three times. On the fourth time, Emily took Paige's hand, intertwining their fingers. When they reached the top of Emily's steps, she turned to face Paige. Paige set down Emily's bag, and Emily took Paige's hand, now holding both of them. She rubbed her thumbs across the backs of Paige's fingers. She leaned in to give Paige a thank-you kiss on the cheek, but, midway there, she changed her mind and planted a soft kiss on her lips instead, murmuring a small, "Thank you" as they separated. "Are you allowed to kiss on-duty?" she asked, in a deep, sultry voice.

Paige rolled her eyes with a smirk and kissed Emily back, tightening her grip on Emily's hands as their lips connected. The end of the kiss left them in a momentary trance, staring deep into each other's eyes in the stillness of the night.

After a few seconds, Paige cleared her throat. Emily knew what it meant. She let go of Paige's hands. "Call me when you finish your patrol," she told her.

"It's going to be really late," Paige explained. "I don't want to wake you." Emily tightened her lips. "I'll text you," Paige offered, as a concession. "That way, when you wake up…"

Emily put her hands on Paige's shoulders, staring into her eyes to show how serious she was. "Call me."

Paige nodded obediently. "I'll call you."

Emily pulled Paige in and gave her another kiss, this one longer and with more feeling than the ones that had preceded it. Paige's right hand went to Emily's cheek, the other finding its way through Emily's hair to the back of her neck as they pulled each other closer. When they separated, Emily's hands moved from Paige's shoulders onto her chest. "I'd better let you get back to work," she said, managing a smile. Paige nodded, straightening her cap as she slowly turned to walk away. There seemed to be an extra bounce in her step as she made her way back to the sidewalk. She turned to give Emily one more wave, which Emily eagerly returned. With a heavy sigh, a mixture of elation and regret, Emily let herself into her house.

* * *

Emily fumbled around for her phone, knocking it off of the nightstand in the process, and almost falling out of the bed as she leaned over the side of it to pick the phone up off the floor. On the other end of the line, Paige was mentally kicking herself for having taken Emily seriously, when she was clearly just being polite when she said that she wanted Paige to call. She was kind of relieved that Emily hadn't picked up. She braced herself to leave a message when she heard a sleepy "Hello?" come through.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry, Emily, I shouldn't have…"

"Paige?" Emily's voice was deep and husky with fatigue. She pushed the hair away from her face and looked at the clock. "What? No, no, no, Paige – I'm so glad you called. I really wanted to – "

Paige expected to hear "I really wanted to know that you were safe." That was, in fact, what Emily had planned to say, but her half-asleep brain was more honest.

"I really wanted to hear your voice," she heard herself saying. She also heard Paige's slight chuckle at the admission, but she owned her admission. It was the truth, after all. "What are you doing now?"

"Well, I'm going to get some sleep before I head over to campus."

"I am, too," Emily said, starting to sound more awake. "What time are your classes?"

"Um… I have a 10:30 and a 2:00."

"Oh. I have a 1:30 seminar," Emily said.

"Well, maybe I could meet you for lunch? Say, noon?"

"That sounds good." Emily's tone got more tentative. "I usually bring my lunch…" She didn't want Paige to have to buy her lunch, but she was on a budget, and she couldn't really afford to go out.

"Same here," Paige said, smiling.

"How about I make us something? You could meet me in my office?"

"Okay," Paige said eagerly. "Try to get some sleep!"

"You, too. I'll see you soon."

Emily sighed as she ended the call, smiling. _So, this is what it's like,_ _dating a cop._

* * *

Emily wasn't sure what to make for Paige. She didn't really know what Paige ate, other than a burger and fries. And she knew that Paige loved coffee. "Dark and strong," as Emily had described it Hanna. And Hanna, of course, had to say, "The same way she likes her women!"

Emily decided on a quinoa salad – something that wasn't too heavy, since Paige still had an afternoon class to sit through, and something that didn't scream "vegetarian." She packed up a couple of bottles of water to go with it, figuring that water was a safe choice. Coffee, she assumed, was more a way for Paige to stay alert during her late shifts. She planned to pick up a half-loaf of fresh bread from the bakery on her way to campus.

Emily noticed movement through the glass in the door to her tiny office and looked up to see Paige peering in, making sure she was in the right place. Emily bounced out of her chair to let her in, and Paige apologized for being early, explaining that she had left herself some extra time to find the place. Emily squeezed her shoulder and gave her a reassuring kiss, pointing her to a chair on the other side of her desk.

Paige took a moment to take in her surroundings before she sat, notably all of the books on the wall. The place seemed very professorial. One shelf behind her desk was devoted to pictures; family, from the look of it – a woman who looked for all the world like Emily, and an older man in a uniform, with Emily and what had to be her brother, the spitting image of her father, standing between them. Paige was pretty sure that it was her brother, because, in another picture, he was holding Mia, with his arm around a woman who had to be Emily's sister-in-law.

"That's my family," Emily said, picking up the picture that Paige had been looking at. "My Mom, Pam," she said, pointing, "my Dad, Wayne, _moi,_ Emily, she said with a giggle, "and my brother, Wayne Jr. – Mia's dad."

"Wayne Jr.? Did you guys call him…"

"Don't say it!" Emily laughed. "He gets a little pissy if people call him 'Lil Wayne,'" she explained, "so, if you ever meet him…"

"I hope I do," Paige said, grinning.

"I hope salad's okay?" Emily asked as she swiveled around to open the mini-fridge behind her desk.

"Perfect," Paige confirmed. "I'm actually going to hit the gym before I hit the streets tonight, so I don't want something that would weigh me down."

Emily smiled and nodded. "Water okay?"

"Perfect," Paige said again.

"Boy, you are really on your best behavior, aren't you?"

"Why, Professor Fields," Paige said in an artificially high-pitched voice, "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about!"

* * *

"Your dad's in the Army?"

"Yeah." Emily flashed a slight smile of pride. "Lieutenant Colonel, in the National Guard, now."

"Was that rough on you, growing up?"

"In what way?"

"Did you guys move around a lot?"

"Not really. Yeah, that made it rough. Being away from him, when he was deployed. Also, the fact that he's in 'a dangerous profession,' as he used to say." Emily giggled sadly at that thought. Her voice dropped. "Well, you know about that."

"Oh, Em," Paige said reassuringly. "I wouldn't compare what I do with what your father does. I mean, a small-town cop? The biggest danger is getting bitten by the cat you're rescuing from a tree, or..."

Emily smiled. "Getting mistaken for a stripper by the drunk girls at a Super Bowl party?"

"Yeah, that, too, I guess." Paige leaned her head back and laughed.

Emily looked down at her salad. "No, well, my Dad always told me that they had to be constantly on alert. Even when he was home. You never know what's going to happen when there are guns involved."

Paige squeezed Emily's hand, reading the thought that Emily wasn't saying out loud. "Well, that's true. But, trust me. We're very careful." She lowered her head, to capture Emily's eyes. "I'm safe," she assured her.

"Do you have brothers and sisters?" Emily asked, reaching for some water to clear her palate.

Paige, in the middle of chewing, covered her mouth as she shook her head. "Only child," she choked out.

"Oh," Emily teased, "you're one of those spoiled, stuck-up, only child brats!"

"Yeah, something like that," Paige said with a shy grin.

"So were you and your parents really close?"

"More or less. I mean, there were some rocky times, you know, when they found out I was into girls." Paige let out a defensive chuckle against one of the most stinging memories from that period of her life. "It kind of felt as if my parents felt that they only had one shot at a kid who would make them proud and give them grandkids, and they blew it. And, you know, that was it; it was too late for them to have another kid."

Emily's mouth went wide. Without thinking, she took hold of Paige's hand, with a sympathetic look. "That's horrible," she said softly.

Paige shrugged it off. "It passed," she said dismissing her trauma. "Oh, wait." She pulled out her phone and opened facebook. "I have some pictures. She extended the phone to Emily, smiling proudly at the picture of her standing between her parents, with her father's hand on her shoulder and her mother's arm around her waist. They were standing by a lake, with a canoe upside down on the bank, a set of oars crossed on top of it, and the coals from a fire pit at their feet. The sun was setting behind them.

"Aww!" Emily was beaming. "You're so cute!" Emily waved her hand to back away from the statement. "The three of you, I mean." Without thinking, she swiped to the next picture.

Paige quickly reached for the phone. "Don't look at those," she pleaded. Emily raised an eyebrow, confused, but handed over the phone. Paige looked at the image of herself. "My thighs were all bruised from field hockey," she explained with a scowl. She resignedly handed over the phone to let Emily see for herself.

* * *

"So, you're dating a cop?"

Emily sighed deeply, lying on her back on the bed with her phone cradled between her shoulder and her neck. Her arms were extended high above her, and she was looking at the shadows her fingers formed against the ceiling. "I guess. I mean, I don't know what we are."

"Well, what do you want it to be?"

Emily bit her lip. "I really like her."

"And?" When Emily didn't reply, Hanna continued, "Does she like you?"

Emily sat up, crossing her legs on the bed. "I don't know," she whined. "Maybe she just wants a little fun."

"Emily…"

Emily let out a heavy breath.

"Well, what does your heart tell you?"

"My heart doesn't know!" Emily grabbed a fistful of hair, leaning over with her elbow on her thigh. Hanna gave her some space.

"Maybe I should meet her." Before Emily could protest, Hanna continued. "You know, like a double-date? With Caleb?"

"Maybe," Emily reluctantly conceded.

"Friday?"

Emily wasn't ready to be pinned down to a date. "I don't know, Hanna. If she calls me, I'll ask her. But I'm not going to call her."

* * *

It was three in the morning. Emily was breathing heavily. She could feel her heart pound in her ears. She called Paige.

"Emily? Is everything…"

"Paige!" Emily interrupted. "Where are you?"

"I'm at work," Paige said, confused.

"Paige." There was urgency in Emily's voice. "Are you safe?"

"Yeah, of course, Em."

Emily felt foolish for calling. "I'm sorry. I just…"

"Emily, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm okay. I just… I'm sorry – I just had a feeling. Like a premonition. I thought you were in trouble. It's stupid. I'll let you go."

"No, Emily, I get it," Paige said, her tone sober.

"I'm sorry," Emily said softly.

"Listen," Paige replied. "I'm not too far from there. How about I stop by?"

"Paige, you don't have to. It was just a stupid… Look, I'll be all right."

"I want to," Paige said firmly. "If it's not too late, that is."

Emily shook her head, wiping her eyes. "It's not too late."

"Okay. I'll be there in a couple of minutes."

"Paige..."

"Hey," Paige said softly. "It's my job: Protecting the citizens and making sure they're safe."

* * *

Emily took a moment to compose herself before she answered the doorbell. She had planned to smile confidently, to prove to Paige that she was okay and not a weirdo, but, when she opened the door, all that she could do was fall into Paige's arms. It was one thing to hear Paige say that she was safe. Seeing her in the doorway, live and undamaged, was a little overwhelming. Paige stood silently, holding Emily tight, letting Emily feel her heartbeat and know that she was safe.

"I'm fine," Emily said, wiping away the tears that made lies of her words. Paige took her hand and led her to the couch. She stretched out her arm and Emily leaned in close, resting her head and her hand on Paige's chest.

"It's okay," Paige said softly, speaking for the first time since she showed up. She kissed the top of Emily's head.

Emily knew that she should let go and let Paige get back to work, but she didn't want her to leave. Paige didn't seem to be in a hurry.

* * *

Emily woke in a panic, thrashing about for a moment. She discovered that she was in her bed, but she didn't remember getting there.

_Paige._

She must've fallen asleep, and Paige must've carried her up to bed. She clicked on the light on the nightstand, to see whether Paige had left a note. As she looked around, she wished that she had tidied her room up a bit before Paige got there.

Finding no note, Emily looked to see whether Paige had texted her, but her phone wasn't there. She headed downstairs to find it, but stopped halfway when she saw Paige seated on the couch asleep, her legs splayed wide and her mouth open as her head lay back against the cushions. Emily was overwhelmed with guilt at the sight.

She continued lightly down the stairs, hoping to wake Paige gently. Paige, though, sprang into a defensive pose when Emily got close. "Sorry," Emily whispered with an apologetic cringe. "Did I get you in trouble?"

Paige stood and stretched, arching her back and raising her hands above her head. She rubbed her neck as she replied, yawning slightly. "I called in."

Emily hugged her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you," she said. "For everything."

"You can call me anytime, okay?" Emily nodded against Paige's shoulder. "I mean, I get it. I know what it must've been like, with your dad in the Army, afraid of getting that late-night phone call." Emily nodded. "So, you'll call me if you need to?"

"Okay," Emily said weakly.

"Okay."

Paige smoothed out her uniform and picked her cap up from the coffee table. Before she could ask whether Emily was sure that she was okay, Emily spoke. "Can I at least make you some breakfast?"

Paige smiled and rubbed Emily's back. "I'd like that."

* * *

"Hanna?" Emily was surprised that Hanna was calling her. They had had spent the day shopping together and had just headed to their homes after dinner.

"Are you watching the news?"

Emily was surprised that Hanna had been watching the news, but she could sense the urgency in her voice. It had her worried. "No…"

"Turn on channel 3."

The TV came to life, revealing Paige's picture behind a reporter who was babbling beside a car wreck. Emily wasn't processing all of the reporter's words. Burglary in progress… Getaway car… Hospitalized… Condition unknown…

"Hanna?"

"I'm on my way."

Hanna honked her horn to let Emily know that she was outside. Emily jogged out to the car. They didn't say a word on the ride to the hospital.

* * *

"What is your relationship with Ms. McCullers?"

"I'm her… girlfriend." Emily wasn't sure that it was true, but it was the most accurate answer that she could give the receptionist.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. It's family only right now."

Emily raised her voice out of desperation. "She doesn't have any family here!"

Hanna put her arm around Emily's back. "Em, it's going to be okay." Turning to the receptionist, she asked calmly, "When will my friend be allowed to go in?"

"As soon as the doctor has finished checking her out."

"Can you tell us how she's doing?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am." Turning to Emily, she explained, "It's for the patient's protection."

Emily groaned. Hanna turned her aside, leading her to the row of seats. She rubbed Emily's back as Emily sat hunched over, her head in her hands.

Emily was weak with worry by the time she finally heard her name. She looked up to see a policewoman, in full uniform, tapping her hat against her fingers.

"Shana," Emily said weakly. She got up and walked over to her quickly.

"She's fine," Shana assured her. "She's a little banged up, but nothing serious. Your girl's a hero, Em!"

Emily smiled sadly. She wasn't thinking about "hero" or "your girl." The only words she was interested were "She's fine."

"She asked to see you."

Emily dropped her shoulders. "I want to see her." Emily gestured limply at the receptionist's desk. "But they won't let me."

Shana nodded, squeezing Emily's shoulder. "It's standard procedure. It shouldn't be much longer."

Emily nodded. "Who else is back there?"

"Just the doctor," Shana assured her. "They let me back because I was on patrol with her."

"I'm glad she had someone," Emily said, their high school rivalries suddenly forgotten.

"I can wait with you, if you want?" Emily looked back at Hanna, shaking her head slightly. "Okay," Shana said, realizing that Emily was in good hands. Shana put her cap on. "She's fine, Emily. She really is one tough mother…" Shana smiled and bit her lip, coming up with a better choice of words. "uh – she's one tough cop." She gave Emily a quick hug, turning back to check on her as she headed out of the double doors.

* * *

"Emily Fields?" Emily looked up from Hanna's shoulder, over at the direction of the voice. "You can come back now."

_Finally._

Hanna gave her back a quick rub and pushed her towards the nurse _._

The nurse led Emily back to a curtained-off examination area in the emergency room. Paige was sitting on the bed, in a hospital gown. Her left arm was in a soft cast, and she had a big, square bandage on her forehead. She tried to get up, but Emily touched her shoulder to keep her from doing so. Paige wrapped her free arm around Emily's back and held her tight. "I'm sorry, Emily. Are you okay?"

Emily pushed back from Paige, rolling her eyes. "Are _you_ okay?"

"I'm fine," Paige said quickly. "I didn't mean to worry you. I couldn't call you, and I was worried what you would think if you got a call from Shana." Paige furrowed her brow. "How did you find out?"

"It was on the news!" Emily said, her fingers spread wide.

"Oh, God. I'm so sorry, Em."

"What happened?"

"I… uh… I tried to stop a car. With my body. Didn't work."

"Paige!"

"It's not as bad as it sounds, Em. I shot out the perp's tires, and he lost control and skidded into me. But we got him!" Paige added triumphantly.

Emily leaned over and kissed her. "Thank God you're safe."

"I'm safe," Paige assured her. "How did you get here?"

"Hanna drove me." Paige was relieved that Emily hadn't driven in her worried state. "She was the one who saw your picture on the news."

"Oh, God – tell me they didn't use my official photo!"

"Oh, stop!" Emily said, finally relaxing. "You looked hot!"

* * *

"How much longer?"

"I think they just want to make sure that I don't have a reaction to the pain meds. It shouldn't be much longer. You don't have to wait, though." Emily rolled her eyes, lightly slapping Paige's good shoulder. "I can get a ride. The whole police force is my Uber!"

"Hanna's taking us home," Emily said firmly. She showed her the text from Hanna, asking how they were doing. "Can I send her a picture?"

"Oh – Hanna… Yeah, sure - and tell her to come back here."

Emily snapped a picture with Paige and tapped out a text. "Do you need me to get you anything? Some water?"

Paige shook her head. "I'm good. But, do you think I could use your phone to call my Mom? I don't know what the hell happened to mine."

"Of course!" Emily handed Paige her phone.

"Mom…. Yeah, I'm on Emily's phone."

Emily turned her back and took a couple of steps, to give Paige some privacy. She also did it to hide her smile. Paige had never mentioned that she had told her mother about her, but, apparently, Mrs. McCullers didn't have to be told "Emily" was.

Hanna made her way back to the room but kept her distance until Paige got off of the phone. As soon as the call ended, she swarmed. She gave Paige a hug, surprised at the feel of her muscles. "Holy shit! What happened to you?" She asked the question even though Emily had updated her while she waited.

"I got hit by a car," Paige said shyly.

"I'd hate to see what happened to that poor car!"

The doctor came through, asked Paige how she felt, and shone a small penlight in a circular pattern into Paige's pupils, concluding that she could go home. Hanna went to pull the car around. Emily stayed behind to help Paige get dressed.

"You're going to need someone to take care of you, while you're stuck in that thing."

"I can manage," Paige insisted, cringing as she tried to maneuver her arm into her bra. It wasn't a romantic setting at all for Emily's first time seeing Paige like that, but, of course, Paige's bare chest was the last thing on Emily's mind at that moment.

Paige didn't seem concerned about being exposed. She was too focused on declaring her independence. "It's not even my dominant arm," she pointed out.

Emily put her hands on her hips. "Don't fight me on this," she said firmly, although her voice was breaking slightly. "We're going to go to your place, and I'm going to help you pack some things. Then, I'm driving your car back to my place."

Paige wanted to put up a struggle, but her smile gave her away. "If you insist," she said.

* * *

Emily rode with Paige in the back of Hanna's car. Hanna made some lame joke about not being their chauffeur, but Emily didn't care. She needed to be in contact with Paige; to be able to feel for herself that Paige was safe. She wrapped her hands around Paige's arm and rested her head on Paige's shoulder, almost falling asleep on the short ride to Paige's house. It had been an emotionally draining few hours.

Paige was doing her best not to grin as Emily helped her pack a suitcase. She was giddy at the prospect of staying with Emily and having Emily take care of her, but she knew that it wasn't any fun at all for Emily, given how stressed and worried she was, so she kept her tone and her expression sober.

Emily, beyond frustrated at Paige's resistance to her help, found herself yelling at her. It seemed silly in the larger scheme of things. Emily backed off, throwing her hands in the air in frustration. She quickly learned to strike a balance between assisting Paige and treating her like an invalid.

Still, she stayed close, still finding herself needing to be touching Paige almost constantly. Paige understood - and, frankly, didn't mind.

* * *

Paige and Emily were sitting on the freshly made bed in Emily's spare room. Emily's head lay heavy on Paige's shoulder. There were no words between them until Paige asked, "Tired?" Emily nodded against her chest. Paige put some space between them. "Why don't you go lie down? I'll be okay."

Emily wrapped her arms tighter around Paige's waist and whined, "No," like a colicky child. Paige chuckled, gently stroking Emily's cheek. Emily looked up at her. Soon, they were kissing. The kisses were long and slow, and provided the security that Emily needed.

"Am I hurting you?"

Paige smiled against Emily's lips. "You can't hurt me, Em," she breathed sultrily. "You know I'm indestructible." Paige eased Emily down on the bed and rubbed her back. Emily felt guilty. She was supposed to be the one taking care of Paige. But it felt so good, and she was so exhausted that she let go. Before long, they were both fast asleep.

They didn't share a bed for the rest of the time that Paige stayed at Emily's house. They never discussed why they didn't, but they both knew. Even though it was appropriate - even necessary, they had both concluded, for them to spend that first night together, they knew that, if it became a regular thing, one thing would lead to another, and the temptation to do more than just sleep would be too great. They both wanted to get to the next level, but they wanted to get there when the time was right.

Paige would later look back on those days as the best of times and the worst of times. The worst was desk duty at the precinct, a position she was relegated to until she was medically cleared to go back on patrol. Paige wasn't built for sitting still. She did some serious thinking about her career path. Maybe it would be different when she was older - and had a family. Maybe then, desk duty might not seem so bad. But if she felt the way that she did at that moment, whatever career she pursued would definitely have to include some time in the field, interacting with the citizens.

The best was, of course, seeing Emily every day. At first, Emily picked her up after her shift, despite Paige's protests. Paige was still working graveyard because of her daytime classes, and, as much as she looked forward to Emily's eager wave from the car as she stepped out of the precinct building, she was ultimately able to convince Emily that it didn't make sense for her to get up in the middle of the night, when Emily, too, had classes - and when Paige could easily walk the short distance to Emily's house. What clinched the deal, though, was the fact that Paige would need a key to get into Emily's house. Somehow, even though Paige was sleeping in the spare room, knowing that she had a key to the house warmed Emily's heart.

There was at least one advantage to working behind the desk: Paige was able to wear her hair down. With her left arm still recuperating, it would've been quite a production – if not an impossible endeavor – for her to achieve the perfection she demanded in the tight bun that she wore with her patrol cap. Emily would've been glad to help her with it, of course, but Paige didn't like feeling dependent.

And Emily didn't mind seeing Paige with her hair down. Or lounging around the house in an oversized t-shirt and her Lycra exercise shorts. Nor did Paige mind Emily's habit of taking her bra off under her shirt as soon as she got home, to "let the girls breathe." This kind of behavior led to some pretty steamy afternoons – and a couple of instances where Paige was almost late for work – before they learned how to control themselves. They never really got over the novelty of the other one's body, but they wisely managed to put some limits in place.

"It's kind of nice, having my own, live-in cop," Emily told Hanna. "I feel so much safer." Hanna, of course, saw right through that. Of all the reasons Emily enjoyed having Paige living with her, safety might not have been at the bottom of the list, but it was nowhere near the top.

* * *

"It's funny where life takes you," Paige mused over coffee after a leisurely Saturday breakfast.

Emily wrapped her hands around Paige's left hand. Paige's arm was healing nicely. "I know," she said softly. "I mean, I would never wish that you had to go through what you went through - or that I had to go through what I went through that night - but, I can't say I'm disappointed at how we ended up."

Paige chuckled. "Well, that's true," she drawled, "but, actually, I was thinking further back - your Super Bowl party. You know, as a cop, you're never sure who's going to be on the other side of the door. But when the door opened and you were there in your Eagles jersey and those leggings..." Paige tilted her head back and shook her head. Emily bit her lip and smiled. "Who could've that we would end up here, like this?"

Emily stroked Paige's cheek, her other hand still clutching Paige's hand. "You do know that I really wanted to see you strip out of your uniform that night, right?"

Paige laughed, taking the hand that Emily had been resting on her cheek. "That was the one thing that gave me hope that I actually had a shot with you."

Emily shook her head. "I was sure I'd blown any chance I may have had with you."

Paige looked Emily in the eye. "Okay, full disclosure: I really wanted to see what you had going on under that Eagles jersey."

Emily quickly doffed her top and immediately collapsed onto the table in a puddle of self-consciousness. To be honest, she still felt guilt over the fact that she had seen Paige partially nude that night in the ER, and Paige had never seen her.

Paige sat frozen, wide-eyed. "You are just full of surprises, aren't you, Emily Fields?" Emily put her arms on top of her head, which was still flat against the tabletop.

"Well, I may have a surprise up my sleeve, too. That is, if you're still interested in seeing me strip off my uniform." Emily tilted her head sideways against the table, with one eye looking at Paige in a kind of shocked eagerness. Paige got serious, taking Emily's hand. "I love you."

Emily sat up and looked into Paige's eyes, not surprised but happy at what she had heard. "I love you, too." She stood up, still holding Paige's hand, and led her to the bedroom.

That night, Paige moved out of the spare room.

A week later, she moved out of her apartment.

It's funny where life takes you, sometimes.

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a quickie, but I couldn't figure out how to end it, so I just kept adding more… :( I still couldn't figure out how to end it… But thanks for taking the time to read it! :)
> 
> P.S. - I don't actually watch "Jane the Virgin," but, apparently the show runners and I think alike? Thanks, Guest for pointing that out. Apologies to any JtV fans to whom this story seemed familiar. :(


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